Monthly Archives: November 2013

ASC SA Branch End-of-Year Show!

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f you’d like to knock some nonsense, learn some tricks, see how easily fooled you are, and pick up some self-defence for your brain then come and join the ASC SA Branch at 6:30PM, Tuesday December 17 at the Unley Community Centre. The event is absolutely free and definitely family friendly; tea and coffee provided, BYO food and drink. Information and free tickets available at the link: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/australian-science-communicators-end-of-year-celebration-tickets-9522027641

Nomination for ASC President 2014 – Assoc Prof Joan Leach

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I am pleased to announce there is one nomination for the position of National President of Australian Science Communicators for the upcoming AGM: Assoc Prof Joan Leach.

Joan has been nominated by Claire Harris and seconded by Nancy Longnecker.

Please see below for Joan’s nomination statement.

For more information on the AGM: http://wp.me/p1Zzkn-kGi

– Sarah Lau, National Secretary 

 

Assoc Prof Joan Leach

j.leach@uq.edu.au

 

I am keen to become ASC’s next President and to work with the National Council and executive to further strengthen ASC in 2014. I have already given some thought about a few of the issues (some discussed quite recently in the ASC online community) that I would pursue over the next year, if elected President.

 

First, though, a bit of background on me might be useful. I am Associate Professor and Convenor of the Postgraduate program in Science Communication at the University of Queensland. Having moved from Imperial College, London (Science Communication Group) and prior to that, the University of Pittsburgh (Rhetoric of Science Program), I am about to celebrate my 10th anniversary in Brisbane. Over that time, I have cemented my place in Australia’s science communication community both on the academic front and on the practical front. I have global experience in science communication research and training and I frequently serve as reviewer, committee member and examiner for programs, PhDs and projects around the world. I publish in the field and have edited a tier 1 journal where I continue to serve on editorial board. I am also involved in Federal steering committees and have collaborated on practical science communication projects around the world. While I am first and foremost an academic, I always have an eye on applicability.

 

I am enormously proud of the growth of the field of science communication; some of my first students in science communication are now at the top of the field in media organisations, scientific institutions, NGOs, consultancies, and academia. Part of that pride resides in the diversity of what my students have done. I see Science Communication as a big umbrella that covers activity in science journalism and media, community engagement, informal education, advocacy, policy, evaluation, and research (and probably much more besides). I have always thought that this was the strength of the field. I also am currently on the National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science at the Academy of Science. I have advocated strongly in this group that science communication is central not only to science, but also contributes to a broader awareness of what science means (and has meant), what the nature of science is, and how communication is central to both the doing and the dissemination of science.

 

Finally, why do I want to do this now? Over the last few years, my involvement in the “Inspiring Australia” strategy has meant opportunity to work with a wide range of ASC members. I value my fellow academic colleagues in Australia enormously (indeed, we rely on each other) and I’ve been inspired by what ASC members do when they are given resources and encouragement. I have been active in supporting the 2014 ASC conference in Brisbane and think some of our important conversations will have pride of place then. I also have had the opportunity while visiting colleagues to go along to regional ASC meetings (some very robust, others needing a bit of a boost) and am aware of the different issues on the burner across the country. I have personally gained from being a member of ASC and of the science communication community in Australia—I have gained knowledge, insight, and professional support from ASC. I will now put my hand up in hopes of returning some of what I’ve gained.

 

The Issues:

Raising awareness of the field

While I think the field of science communication is increasingly recognised and respected, the ASC needs to be a continual presence on the national scene. ASC should be the ‘go to’ organisation when policy-makers and other institutions have questions about the field. I was somewhat taken aback in 2012 when the Office of Learning and Teaching wanted to create guidelines for Science Communication teaching and practice—and had no idea whom to ask. This is just one example of how important it is to have an advocate for the organization across research, teaching and learning, and engagement. Members in the ASC do all of these things and the organisation needs that recognition. I will make it a priority to move ASC and its members to the front of minds of key organisations when they are thinking about science and communication.

 

Benchmarking/Certification/’Professionalisation’

This issue is part of a conversation that Rod Lamberts and Will Grant pursued at the start of this year. I would like to pick up this conversation with members. On the one hand, we now have data from Inspiring Australia about the kinds of engagement and communication that goes on in Australia. We are well-placed to benchmark our activity globally and part of ASC’s mission has been to make these activities and their evaluation visible to ASC members (thank you Jesse Shore, Jenni Metcalfe, and Nancy Longnecker). Certification and professionalisation in the field are trickier matters worthy of cautious investigation. On a practical front, though, one interesting emerging trend in MOOCs is to use them for continuing professional development and even certification in key or emerging skills (I recently did the data visualisation course from the Knight Centre in the US). AusSMC is great partner here in online briefings and I know ASC members who do similar things. This will be something I will explore with members over the coming year.

 

Special Interest Groups

At least one of these already exists within ASC. The SCERN (Science Communication Education and Research Network) spearheaded by Professor Sue Stocklmayer at ANU met 4 years ago in Canberra. The conversations that started there have continued and have actually placed this network in good stead for helping to impact and participate in (and even constructively criticise) the “Inspiring Australia” programs when they arrived. Online, members seem to have an appetite for more of these. I will make it a priority to investigate what ASC can do to ‘seed’ more of these productive networks of members.

 

Ethical Guidelines/Code

I have listened to the debates about ethical guidelines for science communication with great interest. Some of you may know that Iowa State University held its 3 conference on Science Communication Ethics in 2013 (and are putting together a useful volume from the discussions there). This issue has local interest as well as global interest—it seems time we put it higher on the agenda for ASC. We can certainly pursue this in February at the ASC conference in Brisbane as well as at regional meetings and online. A national guideline does not seem out of reach. More conversation about applying such a guideline is probably needed. I’d be very keen to have those conversations.

 

Science, Technology and the Future Conference in Melbourne

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Who doesn’t love a good public lecture? How about a weekend jam-packed with thought-provoking, awe-inspiring talks about what the future might hold?

ASC-Victoria has teamed up with Humanity+ and the Rationalist Society to bring you the two day Science, Technology and the Future conference — a celebration of what the future might hold and what paths we need to follow to get there.

Date: 30 Nov to 1 Dec
Venue: Kaleide Theatre, RMIT University.
Tickets: $125 full/$75 conc.

Speakers include:
Professor Peter Doherty – Nobel Laureate and Immunologist
Professor Marcus Hutter – Artificial Intelligence researcher from ANU
Professor Lloyd Hollenberg – Quantum Computing and imaging; 2013 Eureka prize winner
David Pearce – British utilitarian philosopher
Dr Scott Watkins – Materials Scientist and flexible electronics specialist from CSIRO

For more information and to register http://2013.scifuture.org/

ASC-Victoria is hosting two special events in conjunction with the conference:

Futurist Friday — FREE for ASC members
If you can’t make it to the conference, or if you’d like to meet some of the presenters and other conference attendees, come along to the Science, Technology and Future pre-conference mixer on Friday the 29th November.

Grab a drink and a snack and get to know the people attending the conference, catch up with your colleagues or just enjoy a science-inspired Friday night with your friends!

Date and Time: Friday 29th of Nov – 5.30 pm onwards
Cost: ASC Members Free, others $7
Food: Finger food provided; drinks at bar prices.
Venue: Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton Vic 3053

Panel Discussion: Communicating (and understanding) future technologies in medicine

ASC-Victoria is bringing together a panel of biomed researchers at the conference to look at how to responsibly communicate discoveries in medicine.

As technology changes the world, how do we keep the public on side? How do we communicate the potential of transformative technologies without making promises which can’t be kept? And, as members of the public, how do we check the facts?

Join three scientists for a panel discussion on communicating the potential and pitfalls of future technologies:

  • Associate Professor Megan Munsie (Stem Cells Australia) the role in managing our expectations of stem cell technologies. How much of what we know is fact?
  • Dr Melanie Thomson (biomedical researcher from Deakin Univeristy), and prolific tweeter on the frontiers in microbiology. Does Twitter help or hinder the communication of science? 
  • Dr Martin Delatycki, Director of the Bruce Lefroy Centre of Genetic Health Research on what you get when you pay $99 for your genome? What is the future of personalised medicine and direct to consumer genetic testing?

The discussion will be deftly navigated by Dr Shane Huntington from 3RRR’s Einstein-A-Go-Go science radio show. If you’ve signed up for the conference, this is a must-see session.

Date: Saturday 30th Nov, 3:30 pm
Venue: Kaleide Theatre, RMIT University.

This session is being hosted by the Australian Science Communicators as a part of the Science, Technology and the Future Conference, 30 Nov to 1 Dec @RMIT University. There is a cost to participate in the conference.

For more information and to register http://2013.scifuture.org/

See you all there!

ASC Victoria Christmas Trivia Night

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#1 – What is Lord Kelvin’s real name?
#2 – How fast does the Earth rotate?
#3 – What are the chemical elements that spell ‘Cute cat’?

If you think you can answer those questions (or even if you can’t), JOIN US at the ASC Victoria Christmas Party Trivia Night!

Date: Wednesday 4th of December
Time: 6pm for a 6:30pm start.
Place: Room One, upstairs at Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar, 333 Lygon Street, Carlton
Tickets: ASC Members: $15, Non-members: $20
Teams: Approx 3-4 people, but you don’t need to come with your team ready to go! Just come on down and we’ll match you up with a group and introduce you to the amazing people who make ASC-Victoria great!
Included in ticket price: Finger food, festive cheer, trivial questions and PRIZES!
Drinks at bar prices.

RSVP via Eventbrite by the 25th of November

Contact: George Aranda, george.aranda@deakin.edu.au

Journos get confident with data with new online training

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Lyndal Byford Media Manager Australian Science Media Centre

Lyndal Byford Media Manager Australian Science Media Centre

Some of our nation’s top science journalists and communicators have produced a new online resource to support journalists reporting on complicated scientific issues.

The open-access website called SciJourno (www.scijourno.com.au) has been developed to help all journalists and journalism students with their day-to-day science news gathering. It is not just for those on the science round.

When science hits the headlines, whether it’s climate change, vaccination or coal seam gas, journalists increasingly have to get their heads around complicated scientific concepts with few resources and under stringent time pressures.

Liz Minchin, Queensland Editor of TheConversation.com and former environment reporter for The Age, said job cuts in the media mean fewer specialist reporters.

“General news reporters are increasingly asked to cover incredibly complex topics, on everything from what causes bushfires, to how the National Broadband Network works,” Ms Minchin said.

“Journalists need to know where to find good experts, what to ask, and how to best communicate what they find out, including through social media. And we also need scientists and technology experts to be able to explain their work and why it matters in clear, plain English.

“There’s a huge public appetite for science stories; the challenge for everyone is to tell those stories well.”

Funded by The Australian Government’s Inspiring Australia programme, it is hoped that SciJourno will be used by working journalists, needing to brush up on their science knowledge as well as post- and undergraduate journalism students and lecturers/teachers of journalism courses.

The topics covered range from what makes a reliable scientific source, through to working with big numbers and data, and what to do when science gets politicised. The six units include videos, practical exercises, tips/tools, links and resource lists.

Contributors to Scijourno include:

  • Paul Willis, Director of the Royal Institute of Australia (and previously a reporter with Catalyst on ABC)
  • Mark Suleau, recently retired from Channel 10 after more than 40 years as a journalist
  • Liz Minchin, currently Queensland editor of The Conversation
  • Graham Readfearn, independent journalist and blogger
  • Natalie Bochenski, a senior Brisbane journalist currently working with Queensland Times.

For media interviews or more information

Dr. Joan Leach, Senior Lecturer in Rhetoric and Science Communication
The University of Queensland, Brisbane
07 3365 3196

Jenni Metcalfe, Director
Econnect Communication, Brisbane
07 3846 7111, 0408 551 866

Lyndal Byford, Media Manager
Australian Science Media Centre, Adelaide
08 7120 8666

Scijourno was a collaborative project between The University of Queensland, AusSMC (Australian Science Media Centre), Econnect Communication, and with advice from the University of Western Australia

Event review: Ultimo Science Festival

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 Thank you to Isabelle Kingsley for the event review.

The curtain has fallen on the eighth annual Ultimo Science Festival.  Between 12 and 22 September, Harris Street Ultimo was transformed into a nucleus of science. There was something for everyone — talks that challenged our perceptions of the world, hands-on activities to puzzle over, startling exhibitions, inspiring science shows and even the chance to share ideas with real research scientists.

The Festival kicked off with a bang on Thursday 12 September with 387 people packing into the grand UTS Great Hall to hear Shari Forbes from UTS Centre for Forensic Science talk about death, decomposition and detector dogs.

Other lectures at UTS included Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson and Associate Professor Robyn Gallagher who discussed why it’s so hard to avoid putting on weight at the UTSpeaks Fighting Fat lecture, and it was standing-room-only at the Great White Sharks talk by Barry Bruce and Professor William Gladstone.  Overall, UTS lectures attracted more than 1100 people during the Festival.

Friday 13th challenged our perceptions with science, maths, magic, marine science and myth-busting, while unwinding with drinks and live music.  Featured were talks about Adam Spencer’s TED adventure and love of prime numbers, Emma Johnston’s passion for Sydney Harbour and Ruben Meerman’s look into the science of crowds and cocktails.  Lying on a bed of nails and encounters with Joanna the goanna, a children’s python and a sweet grey-headed flying fox were some of the highlights.

Art and data come together to create past, present and future forms of life at the Living Data: Art from climate science exhibition at The Muse gallery at Ultimo TAFE.  Brilliantly curated by Lisa Roberts, the exhibition challenged our senses with artworks that combine scientific and sensory knowledge of climate change.  Three discussion forums brought together thinkers, artists and scientists to lead lively discussions on topics including our relationships with things we eat, how we know things and our understanding through art and science.

Speed Meet a Geek was a huge success with over 100 people of all ages coming in to sit down and meet research scientists.  The Powerhouse Museum café was buzzing with chatter — children as young as 5 were engaged in asking questions and discussing science.

On Monday 16th ABC Radio National’s ‘Health Report’ was broadcast live from the Ultimo Science Festival. Dr Norman Swan lead a discussion with 3 experts covering diet, exercise and the psychology of maintaining health. A full-house of audience came along.

260 high school students took part in the Festival’s school day.  Students met research scientists and found out about their science careers, made biodegradable plastic, floating houses and demonstrated how the internet works using bing-pong balls.

A new event for USF was the popular Young Master Scientists competition. The Live Finals hosted by Ruben Meerman, the Surfing Scientist, featured 5 student teams from schools around Sydney area performing a ‘seven minutes of science’ in front of a cheering audience and 3 judges to compete for the title of Sydney best young science communicators.  ‘Interrobang’ from Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood took home the crown.

The always popular Art and Science Soiree brought together artist and scientists in a networking event.  Guests took part in speed meet sessions, saw some amazing performances and had tiny 3D versions of their heads printed.  Some incredibly interesting and creative ideas and projects came out of the evening.

By popular demand, Simon Pampena, the Angry Mathematician from ABC’s Catalyst, teamed up with Nerd Nite Sydney’s Dr Justine Rogers and UNSW’s Dr Rob Brooks to bring out the funny side of science at a hilarious night of nerdy comedy.  Not surprisingly, this event sold out.

The final weekend of the Festival was all about the kids.  Slime, steam, electricity and things that glow were all on show throughout the Powerhouse Museum.  Visitors also got to get an exclusive peek at the Museum’s collection with curator tours, and families packed into the theatre to hear Chris Lintott (BBC One, The Sky at Night) speak about how hundreds of thousands of people collaborate to help scientists study galaxies, discover planets and even map the Milky Way at the How to discover a planet from your sofa talk.

Lashings of scientific fun were had by all who attended.  Thank you to Inspiring Australia and the City of Sydney for making it all possible.

From the discussion list – Proofreading your own writing

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Thank you to Ian McDonald for summarising the proofreading suggestions from the list.

I’m sure I am not the only one but I always find that proof-reading your own writeing is difficult – particularly when you are trying to find that last typo. Now, how many of you noticed the three errors in my first sentence? Even the smallest typo or grammatical error can distract the reader from the theme of a paragraph, even article. Do they remember what you are writing about or do they only remember that you misspelt a word (writing), added a hyphen (proofreading) and were not consistent in your style (I’m and I am).

I have learnt from personal experience. Putting hours of effort into researching, planning, writing and editing articles only to have readers point out that one typo you missed – frustrating yet completely understandable. It’s the industry we are in, so we have to deal with it. So, who was I going to call on to get some of the best tips in Australia – well the Australian Science Communicators of course.

Before I summarise the tips and hints from the ASC e-list discussion, I did want to point out that yes, I agree that getting another person to proofread your writing is one of the best ways of picking up those final errors. However, sometimes this isn’t possible – your article might need an urgent release and your usual “go to proofer” might be away. So what else can you do?

Below is a list of tips suggested by our fellow peers and thanks to everyone who replied to my initial email – it was really appreciated.

  • Read your article out loud – the ear picks up errors the eye just glosses over.
  • Read your text backwards word by word – that’s another way of making familiar text unfamiliar.
  • Switch the order of the paragraphs around and read it like that.
  • Change the style and size of font – the eye/mind gets used to seeing similar displays and skates over them. By making them unfamiliar, it treats them as new, locking on to faults.
  • Proofread in one sitting (usually hard copy), in a quiet place during the time of the day when you are most alert.
  • Look at different elements (captions, images, grammar, document style) in further readings (electronic version can be helpful).
  • Maintain drafts of proofed versions after document is published, so if errors are picked up later you can trace the source of the problem (graphic designer, you, other person).

If your work isn’t required urgently some suggested that leaving it for a few days will help to pick up far more errors than if I try to conduct the proofreading soon after finishing the writing. Finally, if you or someone else does pick up errors after you publish your work, correct the electronic file where ever possible.

Some useful resources were also suggested:

Style manuals

  • The News Ltd Style Guide – especially useful if your role involves more media and news writing rather than corporate and government communication.
  • The Australian English Style Guide by Pam Peters – this works a little bit more like a dictionary i.e. you can search alphabetically for ‘semicolons’ or ‘hyphens’ and it will explain correct/most common usage.

Books

Online programs

  • PerfectIt is useful for finding typos and inconsistencies in MS Word documents. It’s not free, but there is a 30-day free trial. Note: I did download this program to test and it did pick up on the use of a hyphen in proofreading which the word spell check did not.
  • If you work on a Mac, there is a ‘text to voice’ function, in which the computer will literally read a selected passage of text out loud to you.

Feel free to add to this list by commenting on the story below or adding to the ASC email list discussion.

ASC changed my life…

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That’s right! We’ve heard some whispers that the ASC community has changed some people’s lives. This grassroots organisation that started back in 1994… Who’d have thunk it back in that inaugural meeting at the Press Club in Canberra.

As we come up to celebrating 20 years of ASC, we (the Executive) reckon it’s time to hear your stories.

Did you find an amazing job through the ASC-list? Did you meet someone who inspired you to get into science communication or join a science outreach project?

Tell us below! Or tweet us at @ausscicomm

So what have we heard about ASC recently?

“As a sci comm. student with UWA, I found ASC very useful, as it gave me a chance to engage with established professionals and consider future career directions. As an early career professional, being involved with ASC, and particularly volunteering at the branch level, meant that I had the chance to develop skills and build a network of contacts.” (member of 10 years)

“I heard about ASC when I studied Science Communication as a postgrad at UQ. I’ve been a member for almost ten years, about 5 of that on Branch Committees, and have really enjoyed meeting inspirational people and learning from the diverse community to approach issues I tackle at work from different, more effective, angles.” (Member of 9 years)

ASC 2014 workshops and activities

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The ASC2014 Program Committee is excited to announce that there are new optional workshops and activities available for conference delegates. Spaces are limited:

  • Sunday 2nd February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 1

Telling stories with images using smart phones and tablets. A free 3 hour afternoon workshop for delegates only [times to be confirmed] Facilitated by Susan Rooney-Harding and hosted by The Edge [limited to the first 40 RSVPs]

Everyone has a story to tell, and a community to whom that story is relevant. Our Community Storytelling Series is designed to give you the confidence and know-how to tell your stories using the tools you already have at hand your iPad, iPhone and other smart phones and tablets. Join Susan Rooney-Harding in the first of this three part series to hone your story capturing and story sharing skills. Keep an eye out for the remaining two workshops in the series being released soon:

  • Wednesday 5th February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 2

The art and practice of story capturing. A free 3 hour workshop for delegates during the conference.

  • Thursday 6th February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 3

iPad/iPhone movie making using your iPads and iPhones. A one day post-conference workshop [times to be confirmed] Facilitated by Susan Rooney-Harding and hosted by The Edge [limited to the first 20 RSVPs]

Susan Rooney-Harding, Creative Director/Producer of Inspireevery1 Production Susan Rooney-Harding is the Creative Director and Multimedia Producer of Inspireevery1 Production. She has vast experience in community storytelling and has equipped multiple communities and individuals with the skills to create digital content for multiplatform use. Prior to this role she was the ABC Open Producer for the Riverland in South Australia. Content that she created with her community has been seen on News 24, Landline, ABC Online, ABC Open and ABC Rural. Susan is an active board member and the Multimedia Director for Women in Technology and Innovation and is this years TEDx Adelaide Women licensee.

  • Monday 3rd February: Speed networking session brought to you by ASC’s SEQ branch and the University of Queensland, on the ABC Balcony from 8pm. Free for delegates only.
[limited to the first 80 RSVPs]

To RSVP for these events you simply need to log into the delegate portal using your access key. Click the Edit button next to Other Activities to view and select available optional activities at this time.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Conference Office by email asc2014@eventcorp.com.au.  General event information and access can be found at www.ascconference.asn.au

President’s update: Rocketing towards the end of the year, AGM and members abroad

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Thanks to Claire Harris for the President’s update.

It is that time of year. The pace quickens with everyone trying to get things out before Christmas and some of us, no doubt, fall in a heap (but hopefully only momentarily).

With so many work activities on my plate, I’ve been flitting from one thing to the other and to be honest, I have not found this very fulfilling. While I like variety, I miss the days of really being able to get my brain power going within a particular project or challenge to see it through and feel a sense of shared accomplishment.

Recently, however, I was very lucky to travel to Indonesia as part of my work on an international project. I have been part of the project team for two years leading the communication and engagement strategy and initiatives.

Connecting with others on the project—mainly soil mapping experts hailing from Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia—was very fulfilling and we achieved a lot in the few days we were together. I again reflected that having a shared vision of objectives and motivations for an initiative or collective is very important and helps to garner momentum in a particular direction.

This is perhaps a natural mindset for many communicators as whoever or whatever agency communicators are working with, they are trying to understand objectives and nut out stakeholder needs so they can then tie these together to deliver activities; hopefully achieving change of some description.

Also on my trip, I was lucky to accidentally connect with Michelle Kovacevic, an ASC member working in an international research agency. She has been in Indonesia for two years and has kept up her membership with ASC over this time.

We talked about our communication experiences; how communication is something that research agencies are often struggling to structure, resource and evaluate effectively to address research and societal outcomes; and the increasing focus on communicating online.

She told me how important the network of ASC is to her.

“As an Australian who works abroad in science communication, my ASC membership has been really valuable in connecting me to all the latest advancements, events and hot topics going on at home,” said Michelle.

It’s great to hear from members all over the place about what they value. Recently I, with the Executive, reworked some of the pages on our website including the Membership Benefits page, based on what members and Branches tell us. I welcome your comments on this.

And in addition, you’ll see in another Scope article that we are inviting stories of where ASC has had an impact in your life. Let us know. Bizarrity encouraged of course!